Gun law: 'Message of necessity' or politics?

Critics of a swift vote on gun control say debate is hurt by familiar legislative device

Updated 6:42 am, Thursday, January 17, 2013

Assemblyman Jim Tedisco holds up a pocket copy of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as he speaks out against the gun bill on the floor of the Assembly during debate on the bill on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013 in Albany, NY. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Assemblyman Jim Tedisco holds up a pocket copy of the Declaration...

Governor Andrew Cuomo, left, holds a press conference at the Capitol about a bill to broaden the state's definition of banned assault weapons, increase penalties for those convicted of gun crimes and create a statewide registry of assault rifles on Monday Jan. 14, 2013 in Albany, N.Y. Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy looks on at right.(Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Governor Andrew Cuomo, left, holds a press conference at the...

Assemblyman Marc Butler rises to speak out against the gun bill on the floor of the Assembly during debate on the bill on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2013 in Albany, NY. (Paul Buckowski / Times Union)

Assemblyman Marc Butler rises to speak out against the gun bill on...

Sen. Thomas Duane, left, shares a moment with Gov. Andrew Cuomo when the Senate passed the same sex marriage bill on Friday, June 24, 2011, at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. Gov. Cuomo used a message of necessity hasten the legalization of same-sex marriage. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union archive)

The question returned to Albany during this week's gun control debate, which employed the familiar legislative device to speed the approval of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's bill.

Opponents of the legislation said they didn't have time to study the 39-page measure. "I received a copy just before midnight on Monday," said Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, a western New York Republican who opposed the measure. "There was no time whatsoever for me or the news media to publish the proposal so that the millions of people who are affected by it could have an opportunity to contact their legislators and express their views."

Schenectady-area Republican Jim Tedisco said the message of necessity amounted to "secret government," and compared it to last year's late-night passage of the Tier VI pension package for public employees.

Tedisco would like to outlaw messages issued after midnight, but that idea hasn't gotten traction in the Democrat-led Assembly.

Under the message of necessity process, a governor with the consent of legislative leaders can short-circuit the usual three-day "aging" period during which lawmakers can study a bill before voting on it. The technique is often employed to preserve a fragile coalition for a controversial bill that could fall apart during a lengthy debate.

"You tell me what the emergency need for a constitutional amendment was," said Democratic Sen. Liz Krueger of Manhattan, referring to the message used last year to pass a measure that would expand casino gambling.

His predecessor, Gov. David Paterson, used them 57 times in 2010 and 43 times in 2009. The high point in recent years came under former Gov. George Pataki, who issued 84 messages in 2004.

Pataki's fondness for the tactic prompted Krueger to launch an unsuccessful lawsuit to end what she believed was the overuse of messages and other parliamentary devices. The courts, however, declined to meddle in legislative business.

Critics continue to say there are too many messages of necessity. "It's overused,'' said Dick Dadey, executive director of the good government group Citizens Union.

While he supports gun control, Dadey said the vote on that package was an example of political expediency rather than a true emergency.

"Even though (Cuomo) has used them more judiciously and less frequently, he has used them to get his large public policy bills through," Dadey said.

In June 2011, a message of necessity sped the passage of Cuomo's signature civil rights legislation: the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Cuomo said he used a message on the gun bill in part to prevent a last-minute stampede of buyers seeking now-banned assault weapons. Indeed, that sort of rush took place at retailers on Monday and Tuesday.

He added that critics of messages usually speak out if they don't like "the outcome of the bill."

Sure enough, some lawmakers who supported the gun bill downplayed the message of necessity in this instance.

"The gun bill falls into some gray areas," said Krueger, who agreed that a three-day aging period would probably have led to even more gun sales.